Part 172 Business arrangements


My brother Craig, my sister-in-law Diane, my mom, and I gather at her church to discuss funeral arrangements for my father. In the minister’s office we discuss the things that made my father special – topics that the minister will use during the service. When I am asked to offer a memory, I recall that it seemed to me that dad could fix anything and just about do anything. My mom remembers how they began dating many years ago in January and how my dad proposed in February! They were married the following August. No wonder they couldn’t say anything about my whirlwind romance with Becah…

I take Bree at night to her first basketball practice. She will be one of the Lady Lions. The coach is a very tall former basketball player who has four girls of his own. I offer my condolences.

The next day I meet the same trio of relatives at the lawyer’s office, reviewing matters related to the trust/estate. The lawyer turns out to be a former student my mother taught in middle school! That night Becah takes the girls to their choir camp to prep for the kids’ upcoming musical. I opt to skip choir practice that night, cooking a leisurely pasta dinner instead. This gives me an opportunity to reflect on my life, with all its strange, exciting, and sometimes not so welcomed events.

In our childhood we dream of what our lives will be like when we grow older. I usually pictured all the good possibilities, the things I wanted life to be. The past few years I have had to face the unexpected, undesirable turns that life can take.

I think about these as I spend this dinner with myself.